"If one meditates on the Medicine Buddha, one will eventually
attain enlightenment, but in the meantime one will experience an increase
in healing powers both for oneself and others and a decrease in physical
and mental illness and suffering."

Images of the Medicine Buddhaoverviewon
the webpostersMedicine Buddha, Teacher of Medicine, King
of Lapis Lazuli Light (Bhaishajyaguru, Sangye Menla, Vaidurya)

"His radiant body is azure blue. His left hand is in
the meditation mudra and holds a begging bowl full of long life nectar
in his lap. As a sign that he gives protection from illness, his right
hand is outstretched in the gesture of giving and holds the "great medicine",
the myrobalan plant (a-ru-ra)"

Ancient teachings tell us that merely seeing the Medicine
Buddha, or even seeing an image of the Medicine Buddha, or hearing the
name of the Medicine Buddha, can confer inconceivable benefits. In
Tibetan images of the Medicine Buddha the left hand typically holds a blooming
myrobalan plant. Tibetan medicine recognizes three basic types of illness,
the root causes of which are the conflicting emotions -- passion, aggression,
and ignorance. Myrobalan is the only herb in the Tibetan pharmacopoeia
that can aid in healing each of these three types of diseases. This is
like the action of the Buddha of Healing, who has the power to see the
true cause of any affliction, whether spiritual, physical or psychological,
and who does whatever is necessary to alleviate it.

"His right hand is extended, palm outward, over his right
knee in the gesture called supreme generosity. In it he holds the arura,
or myrobalan, fruit. This plant represents all the best medicines. The
position of his right hand and the arura which he holds represent the eradication
of suffering, especially the suffering of sickness, using the means of
relative truth. Sickness can be alleviated by adjusting the functioning
of interdependent causes and conditions by the use of relative means within
the realm of relative truth, such as medical treatment and so on. The giving
of these methods is represented by the gesture of the Medicine Buddha's
right hand.

"His left hand rests in his lap, palm upward, in the gesture
of meditative stability or meditation, which represents the eradication
of sickness and suffering— and, indeed, the very roots of samsara— through
the realization of absolute truth. From the point of view of either relative
truth or absolute truth, the fundamental cause of sickness and suffering
is a lack of contentment and the addictive quality of samsara. Therefore,
to indicate the need for contentment, in his left hand he holds a begging
bowl."

"In most religious traditions ... visualizing the deity
or deities as being present in front of one, one prays to them, and by
doing so hopefully one receives their blessing, which benefits one in some
way. In the vajrayana tradition, however, we regard the blessing and the
power and the qualities of the deities as being innate, as being within
one's own mind."

"Therefore the World's Most Venerable entered
into a Samadhi called the Removal of Suffering for All Beings. While He
was in this contemplation a great radiance of light of light was sent forth
from his Ushnisa, and he pronounced the great Dharani as follows:

When He, in his radiance, had spoken this mystical formula, the earth
was shaken and emitted a great light. All beings were delivered from their
diseases and miseries, they are now happy because their bodies and minds
are at rest. "

The ancient teachings that tell us even seeing an image of
the Medicine Buddha can confer inconceivable benefits also reveal that
just hearing the name of the Medicine Buddha brings the same benefits.

In the mantra the name of the Medicine Buddha occurs in
several times. After maha
it can be repeated either once or twice e.g. either Maha
Bhaishajye or Maha
Bhaishajye Bhaishajye. It may be pronounced
either as the original Sanskrit (bye-sa-jee-yeah) or as it came to be pronounced
in Tibet, something like bay-cod-zay (at least in some dialects).

On one of the tapes in his series on the Medicine Buddha,
Khenpo Konchog Gyaltsen Rinpoche chants the Sadhana of the Medicine Buddha
in Tibetanized Sanskrit. During the sadhana, Rinpoche chants the short
form of the mantra for 13 minutes.

Please let us know if you learn of upcoming Medicine Buddha Empowerments
anywhere in the world.

Tibetan Buddhists consider the Medicine Buddha Empowerment
to be the most powerful blessing for healing, dispelling sickness and for
awakening the innate healing wisdom that lies within every individual. The practice of the Medicine Buddha meditation (sadhana),
and all the other ways of connecting to the blessings of the Medicine Buddha
(such as those discussed on this page) are said to be much more effective
when one has received the Medicine Buddha Empowerment (Tibetan: lung;
Sanskrit: abisheka) from a qualified
lama (Tibetan Buddhist meditation master).

Medicine Buddha is one aspect of awakened mind, which the
practitioner's (and the vajra master's) vast real unconditioned (non conceptual)
mind. In this empowerment the lama reminds us, in a sense, of our deep
innate connection with the Medicine Buddha.

"With regard to the empowerment, you should understand
that the Medicine Buddha practice is not solely a vajrayana practice....
this practice of the Medicine Buddha is a combination of what the Buddha
taught about the Medicine Buddha in the sutras of the Medicine Buddha and
in various tantras. Because it is connected with vajrayana, it is most
appropriate to receive the empowerment to enhance the practice; but because
it is also connected with the sutras, it is acceptable to do the practice
without the empowerment as well."

This empowerment is given periodically at various Tibetan
Buddhist centers and public venues around the world. It can be taken with
the intention of practicing the Medicine Buddha sadhana or as a blessing.
In either case it would be expected to enhance ones practical and spiritual
efforts for the healing of oneself and others.

Different transmission lineages, or 'sects,' of Tibetan Buddhism
may use different forms of the Buddha images and mandalas, and the meditation
practices or sadhanas may vary as well. Specifically, the images shown
here and on the pages titled Meditation
on the Medicine Buddha and Mandala
of the Medicine Buddha may not be appropriate for a particular
empowerment. Appropriate images and texts will be available at the empowerment.

"More important than how many deities you visualize is
to understand what you are doing. And most important is to understand that
by visualizing yourself as the Medicine Buddha you are not pretending to
be something that you are not...."

"Thus, the distant causes of the diseases are seated in
the past mental environment which was influenced by "afflictive emotions"
-- mental factors that are the root cause of all illness. While these factors
are impossible to enumerate, they are all the consequences of ignorance
(Dhonden, p.15). Ignorance generates other negative states of mind such
as desire, hatred, jealousy and pride. Such negative emotions drive our
mentations, and our mentations contribute to our suffering."

"Understanding one's emotions is an essential part of
the Buddhist journey to full awakening and freedom form unwanted conditions
of all sorts. However, since most of us have very little ability to work
with our emotional energies without creating negative experiences, medicines
and other remedies are required."

"The Tibetan physician focuses his attention on spiritual
factors even in the treatment of the simplest illnesses. Every Tibetan
physician vows to 'regard medicine as an offering to the Medicine Buddha
and all other medicine deities' and considers his 'medical instruments
as holy objects' (Dummer, p. xix). Even the pharmaceuticals, which are
mixtures of vegetable, animal and mineral compounds, are prepared with
meticulous attention to religious ritual."

"One can also petition the healing powers of the Medicine
Buddha by visualization practices .... Even the name of the Medicine Buddha
is believed to have the power to free one from the pattern of negative
thoughts and emotions. Healing can occur just by speaking, hearing or concentrating
on his name. Thus, for example, conceited persons will become humble, greedy
persons will become charitable and those who cause dissent will become
cooperative and loving just by hearing or saying his name."

"Some examples of ritual involving the Medicine Buddha
which are believed to have a curative or strengthening influence for the
ill include meditating upon the deep blue color of lapis lazuli; making
puja offerings of flowers and incense to the image of the deity; mentally
or physically constructing an image of the deity; playing musical instruments
and chanting; reading sutras; constructing altars, mandalas or banners;
and lighting lamps."

"The significance of the Medicine Buddha as the Supreme Healer
in Tibetan medicine for liberating the individual from suffering is an
exemplary metaphor for the mystical elements which are universally inherent
in the healing tradition. The tradition is truly a holistic approach to
the problem of suffering, both individual suffering and suffering as a
universal condition."

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Sadhana of the Medicine Buddhaby H.H. Dudjom Rinpoche

A short root text of the sadhana, published with commentaries
and a glossary. Extremely concise and potent, it is said to radiate multitudes
of blessings and realizations for those who practice it for the benefit
of all.

According to Dudjom Rinpoche, this book transmits the
empowerment for the practice.

Thrangu Rinpoche first discusses the practice of the Medicine
Buddha Sadhana in generous detail, explaining how to do each stage of the
meditation, and what it's significance is. He then focuses on the Medicine
Buddha Sutra, "The Twelve Great Aspirations of the Medicine Buddha" by
Buddha Sakyamuni, including the benefits of hearing, recollecting, and
reciting the name of the Medicine Buddha. Contains the text of the Medicine
Buddha sadhana.

A scholarly discussion the importance of healing in Buddhism,
and of the Medicine Buddha as presented in the teachings of Buddha Sakyamuni
and in later commentaries, and as the central focus of the spiritual healing
practices of several Buddhist cultures.

An American practitioner of Chinese medicine travels to
Nepal on a medical and spiritual pilgrimage, studying Tibetan and Ayurvedic
healing methods and the source of all this ancient medical wisdom, the
Medicine Buddha.

A comprehensive but non technical overview of the various
healing practices used in Tibetan Buddhist cultures, including the role
of Medicine Buddha teachings and the Medicine Buddha empowerment in the
training of physicians and healers.

English and Chinese version of the Sutra of the Medicine
Buddha Includes an introduction to the Medicine Buddha and the
Medicine Buddha Sutra, with a commentary on the Medicine Buddha's vows.
Prayers to the Medicine Buddha are also included.